Lindblad converts pole into his second FRegional Oceania win

Photo: Bruce Jenkins / TGR NZ

M2 Competition’s Arvid Lindblad grew his Formula Regional Oceania points lead by winning race one at Hampton Downs, his second successive victory.

It was a lights-to-flag success, but Lindblad faced pressure from MTEC Motorsport’s Zack Scoular for most of the race. On lap one he gapped him straight away, as Giles Motorsport’s Will Brown passed MTEC’s Josh Pierson off the line then attempted to go around the outside of Scoular at turn two.

The top four began to break away from the rest of the field, but had condensed together by lap three as Lindblad’s early escape was undone. However Scoular’s closeness to the leader was countered by continually having Brown on his tail.

They got particularly close through turns three and four on lap four, and Brown attempted a move at the turn eight hairpin on lap five. Scoular then had to defend down the next straight but remained less than 0.6 seconds behind Lindblad come the end of the lap.

M2’s Michael Shin and MTEC’s Patrick Heuzenroeder were soon closing back in on the top four, and once Pierson began to feel pressure from behind he became less involved with the cars ahead. However he then had a little bit of clean air, enough for him to lower the lap record twice.

Less than a second covered the top three until lap 15 of 18, when Brown stopped filling Scoular’s mirrors. He watched the top two thereon, with a battle finally emerging when Lindblad made a mistake into turn one on the final lap and had to hold off Scoular to the chequered flag.

“It was not an easy race. It was quite long. Especially how it felt in the car,” said Lindblad afterwards.

“I knew it was going to be difficult from already lap one or lap two. I wasn’t very happy, and I had to really try to adapt and make the most of the car underneath me.”

Shin lost fifth place on lap 13, dropping to ninth behind MTEC’s Shawn Rashid, M2’s Sebastian Manson and Giles’s Alex Crosbie. Rashid had been ninth, but profited as Matias Zagazeta also dropped down the order after damaging his front wing through contact.

Zagazeta then pitted, sending him all the way down to last, while team-mate Nikita Johnson went on a late charge from 10th to eighth.

MTEC’s Nicholas Monteiro started last after receiving a grid penalty for speeding under red flag conditions, then was disqualified from the race over a technical infringement.

Race results (18 laps)